Code 66984. Medicare covered 8,319,156 of these. Here is what providers billed and what Medicare allowed, state by state.
Providers in Virgin Islands billed the most for this, at $9,097.61. In Armed Forces Europe the average was $18.89. Same procedure code, same programme.
These are Medicare figures. The billed column is what providers asked for. The allowed column is what Medicare agreed to pay. Neither is what an uninsured patient gets charged, and neither is what a private insurer negotiates.
The gap between the two columns is the point. A hospital billing three times what Medicare allows tells you the billed number was never a price. It was an opening position.
| State | Billed | Medicare allowed | Gap | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Islands | $9,097.61 | $731.98 | 12.4x | 597 |
| Guam | $5,498.28 | $852.59 | 6.4x | 954 |
| New Jersey | $5,102.88 | $874.44 | 5.8x | 78,388 |
| Alaska | $4,823.90 | $845.05 | 5.7x | 7,530 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | $4,646.76 | $543.81 | 8.5x | 57 |
| California | $4,163.66 | $893.65 | 4.7x | 233,162 |
| Texas | $4,087.54 | $712.72 | 5.7x | 205,967 |
| Hawaii | $3,061.33 | $813.97 | 3.8x | 9,852 |
| Delaware | $3,022.12 | $778.07 | 3.9x | 15,641 |
| Nevada | $2,776.43 | $751.23 | 3.7x | 25,856 |
| Florida | $2,720.54 | $720.35 | 3.8x | 209,108 |
| Utah | $2,649.38 | $636.62 | 4.2x | 23,852 |
| Louisiana | $2,550.44 | $617.56 | 4.1x | 37,469 |
| Colorado | $2,538.82 | $714.61 | 3.6x | 49,951 |
| Pennsylvania | $2,459.88 | $655.92 | 3.8x | 122,686 |
| Indiana | $2,364.03 | $583.29 | 4.1x | 90,012 |
| Arizona | $2,268.97 | $774.27 | 2.9x | 75,883 |
| Oregon | $2,254.07 | $750.00 | 3.0x | 37,529 |
| Mississippi | $2,251.79 | $613.79 | 3.7x | 41,864 |
| Nebraska | $2,247.67 | $575.29 | 3.9x | 33,708 |
| Michigan | $2,223.30 | $609.59 | 3.6x | 68,790 |
| Washington | $2,161.33 | $735.41 | 2.9x | 76,127 |
| Oklahoma | $2,126.03 | $567.05 | 3.7x | 57,577 |
| Wyoming | $2,122.08 | $521.25 | 4.1x | 7,265 |
| Maryland | $2,114.85 | $801.92 | 2.6x | 71,942 |
| Kansas | $2,113.40 | $557.43 | 3.8x | 47,469 |
| District of Columbia | $2,054.21 | $561.61 | 3.7x | 2,824 |
| Montana | $2,026.32 | $644.47 | 3.1x | 19,940 |
| New Mexico | $1,984.38 | $695.91 | 2.9x | 18,570 |
| Missouri | $1,861.52 | $459.32 | 4.1x | 85,726 |
| South Dakota | $1,830.42 | $511.75 | 3.6x | 22,838 |
| Arkansas | $1,813.74 | $602.17 | 3.0x | 39,406 |
| Iowa | $1,741.02 | $401.74 | 4.3x | 55,125 |
| New York | $1,648.99 | $383.86 | 4.3x | 237,522 |
| Idaho | $1,618.08 | $642.01 | 2.5x | 22,947 |
| New Hampshire | $1,604.00 | $344.51 | 4.7x | 36,690 |
| North Dakota | $1,519.26 | $405.70 | 3.7x | 19,489 |
| Connecticut | $1,141.51 | $229.12 | 5.0x | 71,559 |
| South Carolina | $1,049.67 | $232.01 | 4.5x | 209,722 |
| Vermont | $954.96 | $284.54 | 3.4x | 12,155 |
| Georgia | $886.26 | $182.26 | 4.9x | 301,209 |
| Puerto Rico | $794.67 | $612.81 | 1.3x | 2,610 |
| Massachusetts | $740.09 | $228.90 | 3.2x | 265,413 |
| Tennessee | $585.66 | $133.40 | 4.4x | 406,311 |
| Virginia | $542.22 | $154.24 | 3.5x | 440,847 |
| Illinois | $426.84 | $84.40 | 5.1x | 833,866 |
| Ohio | $414.27 | $109.81 | 3.8x | 570,297 |
| North Carolina | $365.60 | $79.68 | 4.6x | 711,789 |
| Wisconsin | $358.21 | $45.58 | 7.9x | 586,471 |
| Alabama | $278.71 | $72.56 | 3.8x | 317,168 |
| West Virginia | $258.57 | $83.59 | 3.1x | 77,849 |
| Armed Forces Pacific | $225.00 | $99.41 | 2.3x | 41 |
| Kentucky | $194.04 | $46.10 | 4.2x | 596,554 |
| Minnesota | $192.47 | $48.25 | 4.0x | 466,340 |
| Rhode Island | $171.94 | $47.62 | 3.6x | 81,120 |
| Maine | $122.70 | $39.40 | 3.1x | 177,253 |
| Armed Forces Europe | $18.89 | $8.94 | 2.1x | 249 |
Source: CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, by Geography and Service. Weighted by service volume across places of service.